Final answer:
Frederick Douglass critiqued the founding of the United States by highlighting the contradiction between the ideals of freedom and equality and the institution of slavery. He argued that the founders, many of whom were slaveowners themselves, failed to fully live up to the principles they espoused in the Declaration of Independence.
Step-by-step explanation:
In his speech about the Fourth of July, Frederick Douglasscritiqued the founding of the United States by highlighting the contradiction between the ideals of freedom and equality and the institution of slavery. He argued that the founders, many of whom were slaveowners themselves, failed to fully live up to the principles they espoused in the Declaration of Independence. Douglass also criticized the Three-Fifths Compromise, which treated enslaved Africans as property rather than as full human beings.